Apple Music will include iTunes Match, boost limit to 100,000 songs

With the launch of Apple Music imminent, Twitter users have been bombarding Apple Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue with questions regarding the service, and over the weekend he dropped an interesting tidbit.

It’s already explained on the Apple website that Apple Music essentially includes iTunes Match support, which will match and upload songs that you ripped from a CD, for example. At launch this will include support for up to 25,000 songs.

In response to a series of questions on Twitter about Apple Music, Cue revealed that Apple is “working on” increasing the limit to 100,000 songs later this year, alongside the launch of iOS 9. Of course, some fans pushed further, wondering why Apple wouldn’t just allow an unlimited amount of songs, but 100,000 is still a lot of songs.

For those planning on paying for an Apple Music subscription anyway, the iTunes Match functionality is simply icing on the cake, but this could also bring over those who are using another service like Spotify while paying $25 per year for a standalone iTunes Match subscription.

Once the song limit is increased to 100,000 songs, this will also give Apple Music an advantage over Google Play Music, which currently allows users to upload up to 50,000 songs. Of course, there is still the issue of pricing. While Google Play Music offers a subscription option, users can upload their music for free.

Apple Music will launch tomorrow, June 30, alongside the launch of iOS 8.4. The service will cost $10 per month for individuals, or $15 per month for families of up to six.

Tomorrow will also see the launch of Apple’s new Beats 1 radio station, which runs 24/7 and features DJs Zane Lowe, Julie Adenuga, and Ebro Darden. The OS update, Apple Music, and Beats 1 will all be available starting at 9 a.m. PDT, one hour earlier than Apple usually schedules its updates.